Filesystem Maintenance

Purpose

Safely read, write, and delete files under

MCP_FS_ROOT

using the stdio-based filesystem MCP server bundled with this repository. Applies to refactors, log retrieval, and config updates when direct shell access is discouraged.

Setup Checklist

1. Activate the repo virtual environment and install

   servers/filesystem/requirements.txt

   .
2. Launch the server through

   mcp.json

   (

   python servers/filesystem/server.py

   ) with

   MCP_FS_ROOT

   pointing at the workspace root.
3. Confirm the server advertises the tools

   list_dir

   ,

   read_file

   ,

   write_file

   , and

   delete_path

   .

Workflow

1. Discovery – call

   list_dir

   to understand the structure before editing. Limit breadth by passing the nearest parent directory.
2. Read – fetch file contents using

   read_file(relative_path)

   to avoid stale local copies.
3. Edit – stage modifications via normal repo tooling, then persist with

   write_file

   . When writing, pass relative paths (e.g.,

   skills/github-operations/SKILL.md

   ).
4. Cleanup – remove temporary artifacts using

   delete_path

   only after verifying that the target path is inside

   MCP_FS_ROOT

   .

Notes

• The

  _resolve

  guard inside

  server.py

  prevents escaping above

  MCP_FS_ROOT

  . If you see a permission error, double-check the path.
• Use this skill when another skill (e.g.,

  github-operations

  ) references files you must read—chain the skills rather than reimplementing file access.
• Keep writes idempotent: re-read the file to ensure committed changes match expectations.